Pulling up to the starting line, I was prepared to launch. The man standing outside my window gave me permission to floor it, so I literally stood on the accelerator pedal with my butt out of the seat when he said go. I immediately felt my stomach drop into my toes. Within a space of seconds, about 4.5 of them to be exact, I switched all my weight (and both feet) to the brake pedal, stopping with an abrupt squeal and a giggle bubbling up from my belly. Driving a full-size pickup truck isn’t supposed to be this much fun, but the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV RST with Wide Open Watts (WOW) mode engaged delivers up to 754 horsepower and a heck of a lot of fun.
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2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV RST
Chevrolet introduced the all-electric Silverado EV in 2023, and the first entry-level WT (Work Truck) variants went on sale at the end of that year. Now, as we are halfway through 2024, the top-tier RST is hitting the streets with a lot of tech and a $96K starting price. What’s more, this electric pickup has more range than any other electric truck currently in production – by at least 30 miles.
At 100% charge in ideal conditions, you’re looking 440 miles of range for the RST trim. Plus, with the standard 350 kW DC fast charge capability (which is the fastest charging speed in the segment), the electric truck can add up to 100 miles of range in 10 minutes.
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As a truck doing truck things, I will say the Silverado RST EV doesn’t have the best trailering or payload in the segment, but it is competitive, with 10,000 pounds of max towing and 1,500 pounds of max payload. This is better than the Ford F-150 Lightning, but not as good as the Tesla Cybertruck or Rivian R1T.
It also has an available midgate feature, which allows the second-row seats to fold flat, increasing the bed floor storage to 10 feet, 10 inches. Speaking of the midgate, though it does take a few steps to operate, it is fairly easy to do once you get the hang of it–I even managed to do it one-handed while shooting video!
Outside of playing around with the WOW mode, we had the opportunity to drive around the Michigan countryside as well as hit some wide-open highway stretches during our brief test drive. But that was plenty of time to get a solid first impression of the truck.
The street drives proved the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV RST to be both quiet and competent. I noticed that if you keep WOW mode engaged in regular driving–not just when you’re playing around with crazy launches–in addition to keeping all 754 horsepower accessible, the suspension stays lower. In return, the handling felt a little floaty. However, if you disengage WOW, the acceleration feel diminishes, but the truck feels more planted. So, you can have your cake, but apparently you can’t eat it.
What I find really interesting is that Chevrolet hasn’t released (won’t release?) the horsepower and torque numbers without WOW mode engaged. All the press materials say “up to” 754 horsepower, but that’s with WOW. When we asked Chevrolet spokespeople and engineers directly what the non-WOW horsepower was, they vaguely said it varies and changed the subject.
The driving position from a petite person’s perspective as just OK. Visibility was acceptable, but I wish the driver’s seat could have been pumped up another inch or so for better sightlines over the hood. A colleague of around 5-foot, 8-inches said his visibility was just fine.
While I generally like the looks and handling of the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV RST, there is one point of contention I–and probably a lot of iPhone users–have: There is no Apple CarPlay or any phone mirroring software. So, nope, no Android Auto either. What’s interesting is the early WT models released in 2023 did have CarPlay and Auto because they were released with an older operating system, but all new EVs from Chevrolet now have the new OS, which nixed the popular phone mirroring software. Instead, the Google-based system makes you log into your Google account to access features like Waze, Spotify, Audible and Google Podcasts. This will allow you to interact with apps without touching your phone, however, even if you pair your phone to the system, you cannot easily access voicemail messages or past text messages. You can ask Siri to read you your text messages, but it’s not the same as being able to see what text messages are there and selecting which ones you want to hear. You also cannot easily access your Apple Music or Apple Podcasts without picking up your phone–even if the audibles will play through the Bluetooth connection.
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There are certainly work arounds, but they are just that, work arounds. And I found them to generally be vexing.
That could prove to be problematic for Chevrolet as there are people out there (and I heard from a lot of them on social media) who won’t consider a vehicle without CarPlay. It’ll be interesting to see if GM digs in on this issue or ends up allowing the phone mirroring software back into its EVs. It’s not like the Google system can’t co-exist with Apple CarPlay – a lot of OEMs currently offer both.
Prices and specs
Right now, the Silverado EV is offered in three trim levels, with a starting price of about $75k. Current pricing, including the $1,895 destination fee, is as follows:
- 3WT: $74,800
- 4WT: $79,800
- RST First Edition: $96,395
If you’re thinking that’s a big price gap between 4WT and RST, you’re right. Chevrolet is leaving room for future LT and TrailBoss models.
Overall, the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV RST is a great EV and a great truck, but that $96k price tag is going to be a tough pill to swallow for a lot of truck guys. And the lack of Apple CarPlay might just be a tougher pill to swallow for everyone else.
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2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV RST Gallery
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